How Odds Are Compiled

As bookmakers, RaceBets will look at all of the runners and riders in a race and reach a decision on what chance each horse has of winning. We will then create a book, with odds on each horse.

The book will usually be online on the morning of the race (sometimes a day or two earlier, for the bigger races). As soon as these odds become available, you can bet and take the price on offer. This is how fixed-odds betting works.

Guaranteed Payouts

Once you have taken that price, you are guaranteed to be paid-out on it – regardless of how the market behaves. However, the fixed-odds can change at any time. As soon as we open our fixed odds market, bets will start coming in, thick and fast.

Market Moves

Inevitably, the betting-public will find some prices more attractive than others. Certain horses will attract a lot of betting activity, while others will attract comparatively little. We will then adjust the fixed-odds, accordingly.

This means that a horse that has attracted plenty of bets (especially big bets) is likely to see it’s price shorten. On the other hand, if the horse is not attracting many bets at all, it’s price is likely to get bigger.

This is why you should get your bet on as quickly as possible, if you see a price that you feel is too generous. There is a good chance that others will feel the same way and want to get their own bets on quickly. That means the price could well shorten, after just a few minutes.

Starting-Price Bets

Sometimes you will pick out a horse that you think has a good chance of winning, but the price is not as good as you had hoped. When this happens, there are basically two options that make sense.

The first would be to wait and see if the price drifts. The second is to take a chance and bet at the starting-price.

When you make a starting-price bet, you are doing so in the knowledge that you do not know what odds the horse is going to go off at. When the race comes under starters’ orders, you will get whatever the price is at that exact point in time.

A good time to make a starting-price bet is when you think there is a big chance that the price is going to drift, but you do not have time to sit and wait for this to happen. It will always involve a bit of pot-luck, as nobody can be really sure how the market will move. However, starting-price bets are still popular with many of our customers.

‘Best Odds Guaranteed’

Most punters prefer to bet with fixed-odds, so they know how much they can expect to win. At RaceBets, we have a fantastic offer for those of you wanting to make fixed-odds bets on UK, Ireland or UAE races. ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ is available on all races taking place in these countries!

‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ means that we guarantee to pay you out at whichever is the highest price – either fixed-odds, or starting-price. Let’s say you back a horse at 5/1, but it then drifts in the market and goes-off at the starting-price of 7/1. With ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’, you will get paid-out at 7/1!

Now let’s assume that the opposite actually happened. You backed a horse at 5/1 and the horse then shortened in the market – going-off at just 3/1. With ’Best Odds Guaranteed’, you don’t lose anything in this situation. You still get paid-out at 5/1. This is why ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ is among our most-popular promotions.

RaceBets International Gaming Ltd, Dragonara Business Centre, Dragonara Road, St. Julian's STJ 3141, Malta, is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) under licence number MGA/CL2/610/2009 issued on 18/12/10 and further by the British Gambling Commission for players from Great Britain.